ISA transfer not showing or taking too long: what can you do?

How long should an ISA transfer take before you worry?

The first thing to settle is whether the transfer is actually late, because most are simply still in progress. gov.uk sets two expectations: a transfer between two Cash ISAs should take no more than 15 working days, and any other type of transfer, such as one into or out of a Stocks and Shares ISA, no more than 30 calendar days.

How long a transfer should take

Cash ISA to Cash ISA

15 working days

gov.uk expectation

Any other transfer type

30 calendar days

gov.uk expectation

The detail that catches people out is when the clock starts. HMRC’s guidance for ISA managers says the 15 business days run from the point the transfer instruction is received by the new ISA manager, not from the day you decided to move or filled in a form at home. If you applied on a Friday afternoon, or over a bank holiday weekend, the count may not begin until the next working day. So before chasing anything, work out the date the new provider actually received your instruction, and count working days from there.

Why is my ISA transfer not showing or stuck?

A transfer is a handover between two firms, and it is the handover that usually stalls, not your money going anywhere. HMRC’s guidance describes the steps: the provider you are moving to sends your instruction to the old one, the old provider sends the funds and the account information across, and the new provider applies the money to your account. A hold-up at any of those points can leave the balance showing on neither side for a few days.

The common reasons a transfer does not appear are practical ones:

• The details the two firms hold do not match. A different spelling of your name, an old address, a mistyped account or reference number, or a National Insurance number that does not line up can all make the old provider reject or query the request until it is corrected.
• Only part of the account can move. Some fixed or notice products only allow the whole balance to transfer, not part of it, so a partial request can sit unprocessed until it is changed.
• A fixed term or notice period is still running. A provider may hold the transfer until a fixed-rate ISA matures or a notice period ends, to avoid an early exit, unless you accept any penalty.
• Post and processing time. Where instructions or history forms travel by post between providers, the steps simply take longer than an online-only move.

None of these means the money is gone. It means a step is waiting on a correction or a date, which is exactly what you want to pin down when you get in touch.

Is my money safe while the transfer is in limbo?

Yes. At every point in a transfer the money is held by an authorised firm, either the provider you are leaving or the one you are joining. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects deposits in a Cash ISA up to £120,000 per person, per authorised firm, if a firm fails. The tax-free wrapper is not lost during a proper transfer either, because the cash never leaves an ISA: that only happens if you withdraw the money yourself instead of using the transfer process.

So a transfer that has not shown up is a processing question, not a protection one. For how the £120,000 limit works, and the point about banks that share a banking licence, see our guide to how the FSCS protects your ISA.

What should you do first if your transfer is late?

Go back to the provider you applied to, not the one you are leaving. You asked the new provider to arrange the move, so they hold the paperwork and can see how far it has got. gov.uk puts it simply: if your transfer takes longer than it should, contact your ISA provider.

Use HMRC’s breakdown of the 15 working days to find out which step has stalled, because it tells you who should be doing what and when.

Ask the provider which of these stages the transfer has reached. If they are waiting on information from you, supply it the same day, because your own 5 business days to return funds and information to the new manager are part of the count. If the hold-up is a mismatch in your details, correcting it is usually the fastest fix. Keep a note of the dates and who you spoke to, in case you need to complain later.

Can you complain, and what might you get back?

If the provider cannot sort it out, you can make a formal complaint to the firm at fault, whether that is the old provider or the new one. The Financial Ombudsman Service says you should contact the business first. For most complaints the business then has up to 8 weeks to consider it and send a final response, which sets out the outcome and how to take things further if you are still unhappy.

If you are not satisfied with that response, or 8 weeks pass without resolution, you can bring the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Ombudsman says its service is free and that you do not need to pay anyone, such as a lawyer or a claims management company, to represent you. There is a time limit: you need to complain to the Ombudsman within 6 months of the date on the firm’s final response.

The Ombudsman can look at whether the delay left you worse off, for example interest you would have earned had the money arrived on time. Any outcome depends on the facts of the individual case, so there is no set figure, and we do not quote amounts from individual decisions. The point to hold on to is the order of events: provider first, Ombudsman second.

Does a transfer after maturity or notice restart the clock?

This is a point worth knowing if you are moving a fixed or notice account. HMRC’s guidance says that where a provider receives a revised instruction to transfer after a notice period has expired or a product has reached maturity, it is treated as a new transfer instruction that starts a fresh timetable.

In plain terms, if you sent an instruction while a fix was still running and then changed it once the term ended, the 15 working days can begin again from that revised request. So a transfer linked to a maturity date may legitimately take longer than you expected if the instruction was reissued. Our guide to what happens when a fixed rate ISA matures covers the timing around maturity in full.

How do you stop a transfer going wrong next time?

Most delays trace back to a detail that did not match or a step that waited on you, and both are avoidable.

• Always transfer through the new provider, never by withdrawing the cash yourself, so the tax-free wrapper stays intact.
• Check that your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number are the same at both firms before you start, and update anything out of date.
• Confirm the old account accepts a partial transfer if you are not moving the whole balance.
• Note any fixed term or notice end date, and decide whether you are willing to accept an early exit charge or would rather wait.
• Keep the application reference and start date, so you can count the working days and chase at the right moment.

If you are choosing where to move to, our Cash ISA rate tables for accounts that accept transfers in rank the options by rate, and our ISA transfer guide walks through the whole process from the form to the timescales. If the transfer is tied to the end of the tax year, the ISA deadline guide explains how cut-off dates work.